Education Department investigates programs aimed at Black student outcomes

The Education Department has opened civil rights investigations into school programs that direct extra staff and funding to schools based on the number of Black students enrolled. The reviews examine whether the programs violate federal rules that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race.

Districts that have not changed eligibility criteria have lost federal grants or face the threat of withheld funds.

Chicago investigation Chicago Public Schools lost more than $20 million after it declined to end a program that sought to increase Black student access to advanced classes and reduce discipline rates. The district had tied participation to student race.

review Los Angeles Unified School District created the Black Student Achievement Plan after 2020. The plan supplied additional teachers, counselors, and Black-history curriculum to schools where Black enrollment was high. A Virginia-based group filed a complaint alleging the plan discriminated against non-Black students.

The district later removed race as an enrollment factor and shifted to measures such as absenteeism and test scores. The Education Department closed its first review in 2024 but reopened an investigation after the group refiled. A district statement said the revised program follows state and federal law and is open to all students.

Broader policy shift The Justice Department has also moved to end long-standing court orders that required districts to maintain desegregation measures, including magnet schools and smaller class sizes at schools where most students are not white. The Education Department stated that any program receiving federal money must follow statutes that bar racial discrimination.

A department spokesperson said districts that comply have no reason for concern.